Jimmy Fallon (left) will take over "The Tonight Show" from Jay Leno after Leno's last show on Thursday, Feb. 6. Fallon's debut on the long-running NBC-TV show is Feb. 17. Leno, meanwhile, will be in Grand Rapids for Gilda's LaughFest on March 12. (AP Photo/NBC | Chris Haston)

GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Tonight's the night for Jay Leno.

"The Tonight Show" says farewell to Leno, who welcomes comedian Billy Crystal and country music's Garth Brooks for his final show as host.

Leno, 63, makes his debut at the festival of seriously funny stuff that returns March 6-16 to Grand Rapids. Tickets still are available for the March 12 fundraiser at DeVos Place to benefit Gilda's Club Grand Rapids.

While hosting the "Tonight Show" from 1992 to 2009 and again from March 2010 through today, Leno has continued to appear regularly in Las Vegas, on college campuses and at other venues around the country.

Here's a sampling of Jay Leno's Michigan-related jokes over the years:

• "The police chief of Detroit was suspended after a female police officer said she had sex with him in exchange for a promotion," Leno said in October 2012. "And of course the people are stunned. Detroit has a police department? Really? Where are they?"

• "President Obama released his tax return today," Leno said in April 2010. "He didn't owe a lot in taxes. He has a lot of dependents. He's got his wife, two daughters, A.I.G., General Motors, Goldman Sachs … "

• "Congratulations to Mitt Romney, he was the big winner in the Michigan primary," Leno said in 2012. "His dad used to be governor there, which I think is an inspiration. It proves in America that you don't have to be the wife of a former president to win. Sometimes you can just be the son of a governor."

• "It was found out today that several members of the Dallas Cowboys were illegally registered to vote in Nevada," Leno said in October 2008. "In related news, it was also found that the Detroit Lions were illegally registered to play professional football in the state of Michigan. "

• "Actually, there were some optimistic words today from the Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke who told Congress the recession might end this year," Leno said in April 2009. "He also said the Detroit Lions could win the Super Bowl and Paris Hilton could get an Oscar. So I don't know. He's a little out of there."

• "Over 1,300 cars set on fire in France - 1,300!" Leno said in December 2005. "Usually, to see that many cars on fire, you have to wait for the Detroit Pistons to win a championship."

• "Kmart announced today that they will no longer sponsor signs at the stadium where the Detroit Tigers play," said Leno in April 2002, when the Tigers started the season 0-11. "Oh man, how embarrassing is that - Kmart thinks you're a loser!"

• "The IRS is getting tough on the Detroit Tigers: They can no longer deduct bats and gloves as work-related items," Leno said. "If you don't use them, you can't deduct them. If you don't use it, you can't write it off."

• "Michigan Gov. John Engler put on so much weight that he made himself too heavy to be drafted," Leno said in 1996. "Instead of going to England for two years, Clinton should have just spent more time down at McDonald's."

• Jay Leno, revealing the 1994 slogan for Dr. Jack Kevorkian's campaign for governor of Michigan: "Let's put Michigan out of its misery."

LaughFest 2014 returns March 6-16, 2014 with more than 200 free and ticketed shows with over 60 artists at 40-plus venues in Grand Rapids, Lowell, and Holland during the 10 days of the festival.